Blog: Income Gap Continues to Widen – Shouldn’t It Be Decreasing?

Blog: Income Gap Continues to Widen – Shouldn’t It Be Decreasing?

Matthew Shuster

Oct 11, 2011

The wealth gap in the United States has grown larger, and the ugly beast is not done growing. According to an article on the Huffington Post’s official website, the median income for the United States is less than $27,000 annually.

Meanwhile, the wealthiest, much-smaller portion of the American population who make over a million dollars has increased to 94,000 people. In comparison, in 2009, 79,000 people made over a million dollars. How can it be that the richest people in America continue to get more and more money while a much larger number of people are struggling to make ends meet with just $30,000 to 40,000 a year (If that!)? Pretty soon, there will be no middle-class, just two teams: The Strugglers who must obsess over grocery shopping coupons and the Exuberantly Wealthy.

People have a right to feel pessimistic about the unemployment rate and salaries in America. Not only are the unemployed unhappy financially, but even people who already have jobs are upset because necessities like food and fuel are becoming more and more expensive while their incomes are not increasing. According to the Huffington Post, nine in ten employees do not expect a raise in the upcoming year. Furthermore, household income has declined more during this “recovery” period than during the initial impact of the economic recession.

Something must be done to mend this income gap and there should be more jobs created for the unemployed. In addition, I hope that there will be more salary rewards given to the already-employed who work hard to care for their families. If you would like to read into this further, check out this article!